‘Kara King’ is a new sweet cherry tree discovered in 2004 in a ‘Bing’ (not patented) cherry orchard near East Wenatchee, Wash. ‘Kara King’ originated as a chance seedling of unknown parentage; ‘Bing’ and ‘Rainier’ (not patented) cherry trees planted nearby are possible parents. In 2005, scionwood cuttings of the seedling were budded on ‘Mazzard’ rootstock (not patented) near Quincy, Wash., to produce test trees for further observation. The test trees were planted in 2007 near Mattawa, Wash. The ‘Kara King’ cherry tree has been found to exhibit its distinctive characteristics through successive asexually propagated generations.
‘Kara King’ is distinguished primarily by its wide harvest window. Early fruit is yellow and light red, suitable for market as ‘Rainier’-type cherry, while late-season fruit is dark red, suitable for market as a ‘Bing’-type cherry. ‘Kara King’ is further distinguished by its large fruit size and high sugar content.
The photographs in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were taken during June of 2018, and the photograph in FIG. 6 was taken on Apr. 18, 2018. The photograph in FIG. 3 was taken in June 2014. All photos are of trees planted in 2007 near Mattawa, Wash. The colors of the photographs may vary with lighting conditions. Color characteristics of the new variety should therefore be determined with reference to the observations described herein, rather than from the photographs alone.